


To see you with my own eyes, to feel you in my own heart

by User435



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: A small story, F/M, idk - Freeform, just hit me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:48:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29900643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/User435/pseuds/User435
Summary: Wolffe's first mission post recovery, he finds himself stuck with a civilian.
Relationships: CC-3636 | Wolffe/Original Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	1. Ghost town

**Author's Note:**

> Your girl took a crash course in the Basque language during a caffeine high, and watched Crimson Peak and you guys get.... this?  
> Yeah idk either.  
> Enjoy.

“This was supposed to be a simple mission.”  
Wolffe groaned as he pushed himself off the ground. He attempted to brush off the mud that covered his armour, grimacing as it smeared across the dull white and grey. His head was pounding, the unfamiliar cybernetic rolling behind his still swollen eyelid.   
He wished they hadn’t taken up the mission.   
He held up the comm link to his helmet, “This is Commander Wolffe, does anybody copy?”  
The comm link buzzed, the sound flickering, he tried again. No response. The transmissions were being jammed.  
Wolffe cursed and kicked the lumps of mud off his boot. A wave of pain shot up his leg, and he hissed.   
It couldn’t get any worse.   
  


He walked alone, winding through the trees as he headed west, where their landing was meant to be. The dense forest and bushes made being quiet entirely impossible, and Wolffe cringed with each rustle of leaves and snap of twigs, hoping that the growing bird songs would cover him.  
He stopped.  
Growing bird songs, rising in intensity.   
Morning was approaching.  
He had the mission’s instructions. Do not be seen.   
He needed to hide.

  
Blaster raised, and at the ready, he picked up the pace as much as his limping leg would allow, moving and weaving through the dark, mossy trunks as the night fell into a dark morning fog. His time was limited.   
Wolffe’s helmet display scanned the area, looking for a cave, or anything to set base in until he had the cover of night again.

  
Behind him a twig snapped.

  
His finger twitched towards the blaster trigger.

  
Another twig.

  
He spun around; blaster raised.

  
Aimed at a girl. Well, a young woman, one who only reached up to his shoulder in height.   
Wide eyed, heavily breathing, hands raised up in shaky surrender as she stared directly at his blaster. Basket handle resting in the crook of her elbow.  
Wolffe lowered his blaster, “Who are you?”  
She blinked a few times, chest rising and falling, Wolffe repeated himself, stern enough to make her flinch. She pointed a shaking finger at the insignia on his muddied armour, “R-republic?”  
Wolffe nodded, “Yes, I’m with the Republic.”  
“Help?” soft eyes implored into his, begging, and scared. Her fingers reached down to pull at his hand, “Help?”  
“I need to re-join my squad.”  
She nodded, “Help.”   
And pulled him with her as she made her way through the dense foliage.

  
The sun was rising quickly, the heavy and cold morning fog enveloping them simmering away under the growing light, leaving a soft, cold dew on each leaf. The girl pulled him forward, familiar with the invisible path beneath her feet as Wolffe was led to a small village.   
Square log shacks lined the muddied main street, completely deserted. It struck Wolffe as eerie; unalive and ghostly, as though no one had lived there in years. At the centre of the street was a rounded stone well, an old bucket moved in the slight morning breeze. Each clank of the tin against the wooden support beam echoed through the ghost town.   
Wolffe supressed a chill growing deep in his spine, threatening to crawl up his back and seize his throat in a death grip. The town felt like something straight from a horror-holo.

  
The girl led him through the lines of dark wood cabins, all impersonal from the outside, some with smashed windows, tattered curtains billowing in the morning breeze. The only sound was the bucket, their breathing and their boots squelching in the mud. Finally, she stopped at a door before fumbling with a key on a chain attached to her skirt, her eyes darting around to look either side. She ushered him in first before closing and locking the door behind him. She exhaled shakily, and took off her dark cloak to hang up, silently moving past him to crouch down and stoke the embers of a dying fire.   
“Where are we?”  
She turned her face to look towards him, pointing to house and then to herself, “ _Exte_.”  
Wolffe groaned. Of course, he was stuck with a civvie who couldn’t speak Basic. He crouched down beside her, and spoke very slowly,   
“I need to go west. Find Republic. You, shhhhh.”  
She raised her eyebrows, head tilting to the side as she slowly nodded, “Republic.”  
“Yeah, Republic.” Wolffe nodded, and she smiled, “Republic help.”  
“Yeah,” Wolffe encouraged, “Republic help you, if you help me.”  
She nodded and smiled, “Help.”  
Without any explanation she got up and moved to a small bucket by a sink. Dipping a bowl in and grabbing a cloth, she knelt down beside him and start scrubbing away the mud caked onto his armour, “Help.”  
“I…” Wolffe struggled, staring at how small her hands were against his chest plate, “Yeah, help.”  
She smiled up at him again, before pointing at herself, “Es-ti,” and then towards him, “ _Nork_?”  
“Wolffe.”  
“Ah,” she nodded, “Wolffe, Republic.”  
He pointed at her, “Esti, civilian.”  
She beamed, nodding, “Esti.”

  
Wolffe watched as the girl, Esti wrung out the cloth and moving to clean his helmet. He sighed, at loss on what to do. He shouldn’t trust a civilian from Separatist territory so willingly, but without her he would still be outside searching for a place to hide. At least here, in her house it seemed, he was dry, warm, and hidden.   
Esti softly hummed as she cleaned off the dirt, and Wolffe found himself entranced with the beautiful sound of the blue display of the human, and occasional heat signature his helmet gave him. Outside the sky was lightening into a cool blue, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over him. He contemplated for a moment; he would have to hide for the day anyway, and he was tired, tired soldiers didn’t make good decisions, let alone tired commanders. He moved her hand off his helmet, and she frowned,   
“May I sleep here until night?”  
She blinked a few times, brows furrowing and unfurrowing as she tried to comprehend what he said. Wolffe mimed going to sleep, leaning his head against his hands, “Sleep.”  
Esti smiled, nodding, and making an affirmative hum as she stood up. She waved at him to follow as she moved to the adjacent room, a small but cosy bed with colourful throw, was tucked into the corner, a chest at the foot of the bed. She pulled back the covers, and waved for him to get in, leaving the room again. Wolffe sighed, and stripped off his armour, too tired and sore to think critically as he stripped down to his blacks. Esti re-entered the room, carrying a glass of water, and a small gasp escaped her lips as she looked at his face.

  
Wolffe felt his cheeks burn, and he looked away. Scars were nothing to the likes of his brothers, soldiers just like him, but civilians…

  
She crept towards him, soft hand reaching out towards his face. He flinched when her cool fingers touched his face, gently tracing over the tender scar, still being held together by medical pins while it healed. Esti put down the cup of water and cradled his face between her soft hands. Without the filters of his helmet, he could smell something calming and floral, filling his nostrils with each inhale as he stared up at her face. Blonde waves framed the cool, soft face flushed a gentle pink under the early morning light. He stared deeply into the rich softness of her hazel eyes, surprised they held no disgust as she studied his scar.  
Esti pulled at the buttons of her shirt, and Wolffe panicked, placing his hands over hers and shaking his head, “No, Esti”  
She smacked lightly at his hands, saying something he couldn’t understand as she undid the top five buttons. The flesh of the skin between her breasts bared, Wolffe felt his cheeks heat up, but his breath caught when he saw what she was so eager to show.   
Deep, rippled, silver scars running over the sensitive skin. Shrapnel scars. Esti pulled his hand to rest over them, resting her own fingers lightly over the tender scar on his eye.  
“ _Bizirik.”  
_ “Bizirik?” he repeated, Esti nodded, tilting her head towards his and planting a small kiss on his forehead, “ _Wolffe bizirik. Esti bizirik. Gu bizirik.”_  
The kiss caught him off-guard. As did the that beneath his fingers, her heart skipped a beat. Wolffe pulled himself back, and cleared his throat, the sudden and sharp movement making her jump. Guilt tugged at him, and he placed his hand over her small shoulder, letting himself smile a little, “Thank you, Esti.”  
She nodded, and smiled, redoing her shirt buttons, “ _Gabon, Wolffe.”_  
He swallowed, his mouth feeling gloopy as he tried to mimic her words, “Gabon, Esti.”  
She giggled behind her hand, and patted his head before leaving him alone and unfamiliar.

Mostly with himself.


	2. On goes the mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night starts to fall again, and Wolffe needs to carry on his mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is gonna be pretty short, maybe 5 to 6 chapters tops cause I'm trying to write it like a Clone Wars episode. (i.e. I haven't quite decided how explicit this is gonna get.)   
> Enjoy! And thanks for the support.

What was wrong with her?

3 months into occupation and she was letting a strange man sleep in her bed?

  
Esti moved quietly about her day, washing, and hanging laundry, sweeping the floor, and making soup while the officer slept in her room. She watched through the window as the occupiers made their daily rounds, knocking her neighbours over as they went to the village well to get water. Her hands twitched around the mug she held, eager to help but not wanting the butt of a blaster between her shoulder blades.

Again.

Such was the life if the occupied.

She sighed and moved back to sit in front of her fireplace while reading her old school holopads. Long since having graduated the small village school, her weak grasp on Basic had slipped away as she had spent her days working at the clothes factory in the capital back before occupation.   
But with the arrival of the officer, and the chance to help, Esti was eager to try and pick it up again.   
Dusting off the old holo dictionary, Esti was dismayed to find the old vocoder broken, but at least it would still have a typing input.   
From what she could gather, he needed to go somewhere, but she couldn’t grasp where exactly. He seemed odd, she thought, this officer Wolffe. Why had his face gone so red when she showed him her scars? She had only tried to make him feel better about his own.

With a huff, Esti continued studying through the old holopads, referring to her dictionary and shakily sounding out the words.   
The sun rose high up into the sky, and that was when she decided to wake up Wolffe, knocking cautiously on the door. He jolted awake, in his weird black suit, natural eye still groggy and cybernetic eye rolling wildly. Esti nodded, “Good morning?”  
She internally cringed, her voice was super high and shaky, desperately unsure. Wolffe blinked a few times, hand covering his cybernetic while he appeared to try and catch his bearings, “Good morning.”  
The tired huskiness of his voice, and the dishevelled hair made her stomach flutter. But she nodded again, trying to distract herself by looking at the embroidered comforter, “Uh..food?”  
He stared straight at her, and she awkwardly gestured to the kitchen behind her. He said something she didn’t fully grasp, but caught a ‘yes’, and he swung his legs out of bed, re-donning his armour swiftly.

Esti bit her lip as she watched him, she couldn’t deny that she found officer Wolffe attractive but more pressing matters were at hand.   
Esti moved back into the kitchen, blowing out the candles she had lit to fight the dark, and pulling her curtains shut so they would remain hidden. Officer Wolffe stepped out of her bedroom, and she handed him a bowl of soup, taking one of her own before they sat down at the fire.   
Esti took a spoonful of the soup, before nervously licking her lips, “Where?”  
Wolffe, taking her meaning, pointed out towards the west, “West. My men are there.”  
She frowned, not quite understanding his second expression, but nodded, “West. Night, go.”  
“Yes.” He took a spoon of soup, “Thank you.”  
She nodded, and they silently sat as they ate. Wolffe wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and staring into the fire asked her something in a quiet voice.  
Esti stared, not quite sure what he had asked, and Wolffe repeated, “Why help me?”  
Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, unsure how to express herself.   
She wanted to tell him about the three months of occupation, how they were hell, how she had watched people starve, be beaten, how violence and terror ruled them. She wanted to tell him about the devastation of the air strikes, how she had quite literally watched her life go up in smoke, lying flat on the ground and unable to breathe.   
But she couldn’t.   
So, she shook her head, and took his empty bowl of soup, pointing to the window, “Near night.”

* * *

Wolffe sat by the fire, systematically cleaning, and reloading his blasters. Esti disappeared into her room, re-emerging a while later dressed in black pants and jumper, blonde hair secured to her head, and a small blaster in her hand. She handed it over to him silently, before returning to her room, and coming back out with a large cloak which she placed beside him.   
Wolffe studied the blaster she had given him. It was an old model that had seen better days, but it could still work. Disassembling it, he cleaned each part and reloaded it, before giving it back to Esti. She tucked it into the waistband of her pants, and grabbing a small holopad, re-donned her cloak. Wolffe stood up, and she tutted, walking back over, and grabbing the cloak she had brought out, wordlessly she draped it over him, securing the straps as she stood on her tiptoes in front of him. His eyes met hers for just a moment, and her soft lips parted for a nanosecond before she brushed off the front of his cloak, humming approvingly. Wolffe hid the slight smile he felt creeping onto his face by putting on his helmet and pulling up the hood.   
Esti exited the small house first, looking around carefully before waving him out and locking the door. She grabbed his cloak and led him through the dark and into the treeline. The forest engulfing them.   
Wolffe scanned the area, keeping his blaster at the ready while Esti guided him silently through the trees, creeping expertly past the leaves and weak twigs. She tensed and came to a stop, he pushed his hand on her back for her to crouch, lowering his hood and helmet scope to scan ahead.

A droid battalion was moving through. Thankfully, they hadn’t caught their attention. Esti stayed low and quiet without him needing to tell her, and Wolffe found himself allowing her to be an exception in his ‘all civvies do is get in the way’ mindset. His hand twitched slightly at the bumbling droids stupid chatter as they headed north, away from them but towards the final target of the mission. Outnumbered, and in charge of a civilian, Wolffe knew he couldn’t fight now. If only he could find General Plo.   
The battalion finally passed through, their tanks flanking the back and Esti held up her hand, counting slowly to ten on her fingers as they faded from their vision. The two carefully rose up, and crept to the edge of the treeline, and double checking for any Separatist forces on either side, they ran across the mud trial and into the safety of the trees. Esti grabbed the hem of his cloak again, leading him through the winding paths of close tree trunks, “Near west.”  
Wolffe nodded, understanding her broken Basic as they headed towards the clearing that the General had deemed a day previously as the best place for them to land. Before he could stop her, Esti moved too close to the treeline.

A blaster release clicked.

Wolffe pulled her back and down to the ground with him, a blaster bolt flying overhead and singing a tree. Esti rolled off of him, and he stood up, arms up as Boost faced him,   
“Stand down you idiot, it’s me.”  
“Commander!” Boost saluted, weapon lowered, “So sorry, I though-“  
“Yeah, I know.” Wolffe sighed, reaching behind to help Esti up, “Status report, how many men have arrived?”  
“We have Sinker, and Comet accounted for Commander, no sign of General Plo yet.”  
“Right, we agreed to converge here but the attack is already a day behind schedule-“  
“Uhhh Commander?”  
“Yes?”  
“Who’s the civvie?” Boost whispered, jerking his thumb towards Esti. Wolffe shook his head, “Long story, I’ll explain later. We need to decide what we’re going to do.”  
Boost led them past the clearing, and into a small cave. Sinker and Comet greeted him happily, eyebrows raising when they saw Esti sticking closely behind him. Wolffe crouched down beside them, taking off his helmet and Esti crouched down beside him.   
“Alright men, we’re a day behind attack schedule. My guess is that General Plo has gone ahead, and it is our duty to support him. Now, according to our scanners, we were supposed to arrive here at 0 hour yesterday,” Wolffe used his gloved finger to draw a map into the dirt, feeling Esti watch him intently, “our plan was to attack and disable the shield generators here.” He marked an ‘x’, “So Republic forces would be able to enter the capital by sunrise tomorrow. If we have any chance of making that we need to move. Now.”  
“Commander, what about the civvie?” Comet asked.   
Wolffe turned to Esti, and pointed at the diagram, “Capital. Esti, know where?”  
She squinted at the diagram, studying it momentarily before reaching forward and drawing an ‘o’ “Us.”  
She drew a dotted line towards the ‘x’, “Capital. Esti help.”  
Sinker sighed, “Commander, you can’t be serious letting the civvie guide us, she can barely speak Basic.”  
“She knows the terrain and has the quickest way to get there. Pack your things, we’re moving out.”  
Wolffe stood up, and put his helmet back on. Esti tapped his arm, pointing to the other men, “Wolffe _anaiak_?”  
He tilted his head, and she took out the holodictionary, typing in something before holding it up to him.   
‘ _Brothers_ ’  
Wolffe nodded, “Yes, brothers.”  
She mimicked his pronunciation, repeating ‘brothers’ once or twice. Wolffe was glad that his brothers couldn’t see his smile, he would be teased relentlessly for it, “Yeah, you can introduce yourselves after the mission. Let’s move out.”

  
The group moved through the trees, scanning around and behind them, as they followed behind Esti as she wove her way through the close-knit trunks. The three moons rose above them slowly rising up as the night air grew heavier, a damp fog settling around them. They barely spoke, only doing necessary check ins and commands, and Esti stayed completely silent. It took them two hours by foot to reach towards the capital, the moons settled at their peak.

  
Esti tensed, ducking down into a crouch, and Wolffe moved in front of her, blaster at the ready. It was difficult to see anything past the fog, and a dark figure slowly emerged in the distance hands held up, “Calm yourselves, it’s just me.”  
“General.” Wolffe sighed in relief, lowering his blaster, and pulling Esti up with him, “We were coming to join you in taking the capital.”  
“I gathered you would.” General Plo hummed, tilting his head to get a better look at Esti poking out from behind Wolffe’s shoulder, “It seems you’ve made a friend, Commander.”  
“Sorry General, she knew the terrain and-“  
“No need to apologise, Commander Wolffe,” General Plo held out his hand, and started speaking the same twisted language as Esti. Wolffe felt her leap out from behind him as she responded to the General, shaking his hand. The two conversed fluidly back and forth, Esti’s hand still in his, and Wolffe felt a pinch of something in his gut. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to get a grip of himself and shake it off.

It dawned on him with utter horror that it was jealousy.

General Plo turned to the team, slipping his hand out from Esti’s, “It appears our reports were wrong, the shield generators are not as accessible as we thought. I surveyed the area and can find no way through into the capital walls.”  
“But what about the Republic attack, General?”  
General Plo hummed in thought, before turning to Esti and asking her something. Her eyebrows knitted together as she thought for a moment, before her face brightened up, and she responded. She crouched down and drew a diagram out on the dirt for them, explaining to General Plo quickly as he nodded.  
“According to Estine we can enter the capital walls via the well system here.” He pointed at an ‘x’ on the outline of the capital walls, “It will be a tight squeeze, and we may be up to our necks in water, but it looks like our only choice. Are you boys ready?”  
“Sir, yes sir!” the three saluted, Esti saluted towards General Plo too and he chuckled, kicking away her diagram in the dirt as he patted her head, “We better get moving quickly, the moons have reached their high point, and the Republic is due.”

  
  



	3. The battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> General Plo Koon and the Wolfpack begin their takeover of the capital to free the planet from separatist control.

Barely above water, Esti wished she weren’t so short.

She also wished she were a better swimmer.

The Republic officers all stood, chins comfortably above water level as they moved, while Esti had to tiredly move her legs and cling onto the wall to keep her head afloat. Legs aching, and chest sore from the sporadic breathing, she was exhausted.

The non-human, who had introduced himself to her earlier as Jedi Master, and General, Plo Koon led the group through the well system. Followed by Wolffe, whom she stuck closely behind, and then his three identical brothers, who barely contained their chuckles when she would lose grip on the wall and her head would be submerged. Which was becoming more and more frequent.

They travelled silently for what felt like an eternity, water splashing and echoing loudly off the stone walls, the only light coming from the officer’s helmets.

They stopped. Wolffe and General Plo discussed something. Wolffe turned back to them, wrapping his arms around her, and hoisting her up to stay above water level, as he spoke to his brothers behind her. General Plo spoke to her,

“ _ The water level is getting higher meaning we’re getting closer to the well, we’re going to have to swim underwater the rest of the way, can you do that?” _

Esti nodded, “ _ I had to hold my breath at the factory a lot, so it will be no problem, General.” _

_ “Good,”  _ he hummed, “ _ I’ve instructed Commander Wolffe to keep hold of you while we get out. You’re in safe hands.” _

Esti nodded, feeling secure with Wolffe’s arms around her “ _ Thank you, General.” _

The General switched back to Basic, and Wolffe tilted his helmet down, nodding once to her. She nodded once back to him, taking deep breaths.

He nodded once with each count. One, two, three.

She closed her eyes, feeling him pull her under water, hands sliding from her shoulders, but one staying tightly secured on her arm as they kicked through. She tried not to think that she was underwater, focusing instead on the reassuring feeling of his grip.

Eyes still closed; time trickled slowly as they moved on forever. Her lungs started to burn. She let out a bit of air to ease it. It helped, but the burn lingered, slowly easing back up. Her body jolted slightly. Wolffe’s grip tightened, pulling her along as her head began to pound, heartbeat growing faster.

They started slowly down, and the water moved oddly around them. Esti felt herself being pulled up as if to stand again, and a low hum buzzed through the water. Wolffe’s hands were on her shoulders again, she tried to focus on them.

Almost there. Almost there. Almost there.

Her lungs were screaming for oxygen. She felt her head growing heavy.

Wolffe pulled her with him forward again, and she clung on to him, barely able to move her body anymore. They resurfaced.

She greedily gulped back air. Opening her eyes to see her panting face reflected back in the black visor.

Wolffe moved his finger in front of her lips.

Quiet.

She nodded, easing her desperate breathing as he directed her hands to loop around his neck, and using some sort of blaster, he shot a line up to the top of the well. One arm holding onto the blaster, the other securely wrapped around her waist, they were pulled up.

General Plo helped her out of the well, Wolffe following behind her as they crept, dripping, to behind a bunch of crates. The others joined them, and General Plo and Wolffe gave more instructions in Basic that made her head spin. Wolffe said her name, still talking to the General and he turned to her, hand resting on her shoulder, “ _ Stay here, and keep out of sight. We’ll come get you when this is over. Understood?” _

_ “Understood.”  _ She nodded, shivering from the cold settling into her body as she curled up far into the corner. The General called Wolffe’s name, but his visor lingered on her. Esti gave him her best smile, and he got up, leaving her alone and hidden in the corner as the Republic team scattered.

* * *

4 generators, 1 duel team, 3 solo teams.

That was the best they could come up with.

Once one generator was down, the alarm would be raised. They’d be on a time limit.

More of a one then they were already on.

It was still dark, but the horizon was beginning to lighten. The heavy fog was settling into a morning dew.   
Wolffe moved quickly to the west generator, scanning as he ran, blaster ready to fire.    
She had looked so cold in the corner.    
He squeezed his eyes shut, regaining his focus on the mission. He could sleep with her in the damn barracks afterwards if he was so concerned, but at this moment he needed to focus on destroying the west shield generator. He arrived, undisturbed. Panting as he set the charges.    
The dark was fading quickly. Sunrise was coming.    
“Hey, what are you doing?” a droid called from behind him, Wolffe set the timer, “Stop!”    
Wolffe instinctively dropped to the ground, still firing as he swung around to take out the droids in one swoop. And ran, throwing himself behind a crate for some cover.    
_ Boom.  _   
His ears were ringing. Pulse racing. Blood rushing in his ears mixing in with the marching of the approaching droids.   
Wolffe released the safety.    
Taking a deep breath, he stood up, and fired. 

* * *

Esti held her hands over her ears as the world roared and shook around her. Ashes rained down from the sky, settling on her in a fine dust and catching in her throat. She felt like she couldn’t breath.    
Something swooped overhead. A siren wailed in the distance. Blaster fire and screams.    
She squeezed her eyes shut. Heart roaring in her ears.    
She was terrified.    
Something landed close by, and the crates were knocked against her, pushing her back into the wall with such force, the back of her head connected with a painful ‘crack’. Her vision spun. She felt like she was gonna puke. Esti desperately tried to push back to no avail, trapped in the dark between the wall and them. Panic settled. She heard someone screaming, banging, begging to be let out.    
It took her a while to realise it was herself she was hearing.    
Esti forced herself up against the wall, forcing herself to breath, to calm down.    
The Jedi knew she was here. And so did Wolffe. They would come back to get her. They wouldn’t leave her here.    
A nagging voice in the back of her head asked her what if they failed. What if they were caught? Executed?   
Surely she would be too.

Esti took a deep breath.

She was prepared for this. 

She had been preparing for this. 

Ever since that day in the factory…

The world shook around her again. Blaster fire surrounded her from above and the sides. Esti curled in on her wet body, waiting for her fate to be decided by the fight around her. Someone shouted close by, someone familiar.    
Her name was called.    
“Wolffe?”    
There was grunting, and then she could hear General Plo. The crates were lifted away from her, and Wolffe dived through, grabbing and holding her close to him as he landed with a heavy ‘thud’ onto the pavement. General Plo helped them up.    
And then they were running.    
Running through blaster fire, explosions, and chaos. There were more men in white armour firing at the droids. Unfamiliar ships soared above them, firing into the droid formations.    
Esti was led onto a ship with open sides, Wolffe grabbed the one of the handles above with one arm, and kept his other securely around her waist, holding her close to him as the ship lifted off. She clung onto him, feeling unsafe with the exposed sides, and the rocking of the ship, but Wolffe and General Plo seemed unfazed, shouting over the roar of the engines casually. Esti looked out of the side of the ship, watching from afar as the Seperatist forces were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the Republic forces. She turned to General Plo, “ _ General, where are we going?” _ _   
_ _ “Up to the cruiser, little one. The battle is nearly over, and the surrender will be signed before sundown. We need to report to our superiors.” _ _   
_ _ “What about the others?” _ _   
_ _ “They are subduing the leftover forces. Your home is free from the Separatists, Estene.” _ _   
_ _ “Thank you.” _ _   
_ It was all she could manage, cold, shivering and sore, watching the capital slowly fade away in smoke. Clinging onto Wolffe before he faded away too.   
They landed in a cargo hold so big it made her dizzy. Esti’s head spun in circles as vast grey surrounded her, Wolffe’s hold on her lingered, and she looked back up into his helmet.    
“Thank you, Esti.”   
“Thank you, Wolffe.” she mimicked, keeping her arms around him.    
He stared down a little longer, before pulling away and running after the General.    
  


Liberated from the oppressors.  
A new life faced her.   
And she stood alone. 


	4. Respite in war

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Resting, sibling fighting and a surprise.

Wolffe watched from his window as soldiers marched around the barracks.   
He closed his eyes, the cybernetic feeling unnaturally cool beneath his eyelid, as he let his body relax to familiar rhythmic march.   
“Commander CC-3636, I am medical droid TC-3, General Plo Koon has sent me to check up on your eye.”  
“It’s fine.” He muttered, not bothering to look back to the droid. He heard the droid’s vocabulator buzz, but spoke again before it could speak, “I order you to return to your duties. I am in no need of medical help.”  
“As you wish, Commander CC-3636.”   
Wolffe felt the tension ease from his shoulders as the droid left, regaining his focus on the marching again. 

There was another knock at the door.   
Wolffe sighed, and turned on his heal, shoulders bunching while stomping over to slide it open, “TC-3 I am-“

Esti blinked up at him, flinching from the force that he had opened the door with. Wolffe stared down at her, before relaxing, “Esti.”  
She had oversized infirmary clothes on, and was just in her socks, loose hair swaying as she motioned to him, “You okay?”  
He took a second, looking at her soft lips before nodding, “Yes. Yes, okay. You?”  
She yawned and smiled up at him, holding up the holodictionary, “Ti-red.”  
“Ty-erd.” He corrected. She mimicked his pronunciation a few times quietly, before clearing her throat, “Yes, tired. Wolffe tired?”  
“No.”   
She frowned and traced under her eyes, before pointing at him while frowning. He huffed out a slight laugh and felt a warm bubbling in his chest when the apples of her cheeks flushed pink with her own chuckle. She looked down to her hands, fingers twisting and pulling at the bunched-up fabric around her wrists, “Wolffe?”  
“Mm-hmm?"  
“You stay?”

Her eyes stared up at him with such earnestness, her fingers continuously pinching at the infirmary shirt sleeves as her cheeks flushed an even darker hue.   
His eyes went back down to her lips.   
This wasn’t good.   
“Wolffe?”  
“I-uh,” he shrugged, “I don’t know, Esti.”  
She nodded, eyes dropping down to her fiddling, “Um…want dinner?”  
“Dinner?”  
“Dinner.” She looked back up at him, smiling nervously.

He wondered how the agreement slipped past his lips without him realising it.

* * *

Esti stared down at the meal she was presented with.

She thought a lifetime of being raised in a poorly funded orphanage would prepare her for anything cuisine wise, but she was proven wrong in the military mess hall.

She heard Wolffe’s huff of laughter across the table from her, as she took a hesitant spoonful. Esti let the salty taste linger on her tongue a little, before covering her face with her hand to hide her wrinkling nose. Wolffe gently took the dish from her, and pulled over a bottle of something, letting the sauce drip down before mixing it through before pushing it back to her. Esti took another cautious spoonful, it was better, had a little hot kick to it but still she didn’t know what she was eating.   
She pointed her spoon down, chewing behind her hand, “What?”  
“Re-constituted food packets.”  
She stared, swallowing, “I- not good.”  
“It’s dismal.” He confirmed, taking another spoonful of his own dish, “How much Basic do you speak?”  
“Little in school. Leave four years ago. Factory.” She shrugged, “No study. No use.”   
“You worked at the factory?” he frowned, and Esti nodded, and pointed down to her chest, “Leave after.”   
“Ah.” He nodded, eyes flickering briefly down to her chest, before moving back to her face, cheeks slightly red.

Esti raised an eyebrow, and he shook his head, sliding over a cup of something steaming, “Try this. It’s a lot better than the food.”  
She took a cautious sip, eyes never leaving his face. She sighed, “Kafe.”  
“Yeah, caff.”  
“Basic is caff?”  
He nodded. Esti stared down at the cup, muttering to herself, “Caff.”  
Someone came over, one of his apparently many brothers, he had a familiar haircut. He talked to Wolffe before turning and holding his hand out to her, “I’m Boost.”  
Esti extended her hand to meet his, eyes sliding back to Wolffe for reassurance, “Boost, nice to meet you?”  
Wolfe nodded, and she felt a bit more confident, shaking Boost’s hand a bit more firmly, “Estene.”  
“Estene?” Boost raised his eyebrows turning back to Wolffe, “So where’d Esti come from?”  
“Yeah?” another voice chipped in, sliding into the seat next to her, quickly offering his hand to her to shake, “Sinker. Wolffe’s been calling you ‘Esti’”  
“Uh- “she broke out the holodictionary, frantically typing ‘diminutive’ but the table broke out into chatter. Esti watched on, despite understanding little of what they were saying, she recognised sibling-teasing jabs. She laughed behind her hand as Wolffe rolled his eyes.

General Plo joined the table, sitting beside her,   
“ _Good to see you up, Estene, how are you feeling?_ ”  
“ _Much better, General. How are you after your battle?”  
“Tired, but it could be much worse. I see Commander Wolffe is getting harassed by his brothers.”  
“It’s quite funny. Doesn’t he outrank them?”  
“Technically, yes, but the mess hall is a free for all for them. If it really bothered him, he would stop it but I think he enjoys not being their Commander sometimes.”  
“I think so too.” _Esti hummed, “ _General, where did you learn our language?”  
“From a visit many years ago, when I still a padawan. I’m afraid my dialect may be a bit odd for your people.” _He explained. _  
“Only a small bit, you’re very understandable General.”  
“I’m glad, but I was wondering if I could ask you a favour?”  
“Of course, General, I’m happy to help with whatever I can.”  
“We’ve received word of guerrilla forces hiding by the mountain range, do you know anything about them?”  
_Esti thought for a minute, _“Some of them would be my comrades from the factory riots. But they are more extremist I feel.”  
“Do you know where they could be hiding exactly?”  
“I’m afraid they have a strict no-outsiders’ policies, General. They might be hostile towards a Republic presence.”   
“I am aware of that possibility, but I’ve been instructed to establish contact to try and negotiate with them.”  
_Esti thought for a minute, chewing on her thumb’s nail, _“If I go with you, they might not be so hostile. I can guide you to them.”  
“It could be dangerous, Estene, I don’t wish to put you at risk.”  
“Don’t worry about me, General. Besides, you might need a native input in the negotiations.” _She smiled up at him. He patted her back, _“Thank you, Estene. We’ll be leaving at sunrise tomorrow so get lots of rest.”_

* * *

Wolffe walked with her back to the med-bay, his hand occasionally reaching out to rest on her back as he guided her past soldiers.   
She would turn her face up to his, leaning back a little into his touch, the slight blush becoming a permanent fixture on her face around him. The wordless journey ended too soon, and he guided her to her bed at the end of the room, instructing the med-droid to wake her up one hour before sunrise. Esti began pulling the curtains around her bed closed, lingering in front of him. Before he could stop her, she stood on her tiptoes and planted a small kiss on his cheek, not quite pulling away, “Gabon, Wolffe.”  
Behind his back he clenched his fists, trying to force himself to stay professional, as he shakily tried to bid her goodnight.  
Her lips felt so soft against his cheek.   
His face was leaning into hers; her eyes were fluttering closed, leaning in until her lips brushed against his, hands coming up to rest on his chest.   
Something sparked in his brain when he gave in.   
Wolffe let her hum against his lips, her hands gripping the fabric of his uniform, his own hands coming up to cradle the back of her neck as she tilted her head to deepen the kiss. He moved down to drag his teeth down her plusher bottom lip, letting his tongue dart out to soothe it.   
A warm fuzzy blanket settled over his mind.   
Esti’s tongue licked the seam of his lips, urging him to part but he pulled away, clearing his throat, “Gabon, Esti.”   
His voice sounded different, huskier, more strained. She was catching her breath, eyes glittering up to him as a small smile played on her pink lips. She closed the rest pf the curtain closed, humming as he heard her climb onto her bed, while he desperately trying to gather his wits.   
Lost somewhere between her breasts and her lips. __  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your support so far!!!  
> This chapter was a bit rough to write (like 8 different drafts) but I'm overall happy with this result. Hope you guys enjoyed, and lemme know what you want from this story rating wise?  
> Like innocent hand holding and sneaky kisses? Slightly more suggestive, or more explicit? Cause honestly it could go any way.


	5. Guerrillas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wolfpack seek to cooperate with the stern freedom fighters of the factory riots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all the love you've given this story so far! I'm very glad you've been enjoying it!

“General, exactly how does Estene know all these forest routes?”  
General Plo turned his head back a little to face Comet as they continued hiking up the path, “She mentioned co-ordinating escape routes during the factory riots.”   
Esti was ahead of them, crouching down and scanning a rock with her fingers tips. Her eyes lit up, and she turned to wave to them, “General Plo, _hurbil gaude_!”   
“What did she say?”   
“Apparently we’re close.”  
Wolffe watched as Esti pushed off her haunches, and hiked up further, nearly disappearing in the morning fog.   
“Should we tell her to wait?”   
“Estene!” General Plo called through cupped hands, voice echoing. She didn’t turn back, Wolffe called her again as she disappeared in the fog. They picked up the pace of their hiking.   
“Poor Commander, getting ignored by his girlfriend.”   
“Not the time, Boost.”   
They ran into a clearing, Esti was kneeling in front of a rock face, fingertips tracing slowly. Wolffe stood behind her, “You need to listen to orders, Estene.”   
“Brothers and sisters.” she whispered.   
“What?”   
“Esti brothers and sisters,” she pointed to the rock, smiling sadly. Wolffe crouched down and looked at the eight childish stick figures, with words beneath carved in. A small date on the side dating to ten years ago.   
She picked up a small rock with a sharp edge, carving little circles over a few heads, “Balendin, Irati, Argi… Gone.”   
“They died?”   
She nodded, eyes brimming as she sniffed, “Riots. Diziplina machines.”   
“The factory riots and their fallouts claimed many lives. I’m sorry for your losses, little one.” General Plo patted her head.   
She wiped her nose off the back of her hand, before pointing to each person, “Argi, Amaia, Eguzki, Estene, Gaizka, Irati, Balendin, Lorea. Brothers and sisters. Some dead. Some in prison. Others are guerrillas.”   
“Where can we find them, Estene?”   
“Here.”   
  


Two groups emerged from the trees guns raised. General Plo and his men automatically raised their own. Wolffe spun so Esti was behind him, protected between his back and the rock face.   
“ _Surrender!”_ _  
_ Esti raised her hands up, turning slowly. A few guns lowered, slightly.   
“ _Esti?_ ” Eguzki gawped, before clearing his throat, “ _Who are these people?”  
_ “ _Friends.”_ Esti slowly got up, patting Wolffe's shoulder for reassurance as she crossed over to Eguzki, and laid her hand over his rifle, _“Please lower your weapons, brother, they’re just here to talk.”_ _  
_ Eguzki licked his lips, left eye twitching nervously, _“H-Have them lower theirs first.”_ _  
_ _“General, please.”_ She spun to him, pleading. _  
_ “Stand down.”   
“Gener-”   
“Stand down.”   
Wolffe lowered his weapon first, the others followed suit. Eguzki grabbed her, pulling her into a hug, behind her Wolffe tensed.   
“ _I knew you’d join us one day, sister.”  
"I'm glad to see you too, brother." _ she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, leaving a small kiss on his cheek, " _How is everyone else?"  
"Come see for yourself."_ he gave her a slap between her shoulder blades before tugging at her sleeve to follow him past the treeline, revealing the rest of the forces. Familiar faces broke into smiles when they saw her,   
Amaia crossed the forest floor and pulled her into a hug, “Estene?! _We’ve been so worried.”_ _  
_ _“Amaia!”_ Esti pulled her tighter to her, careful not to lean too heavy on her shoulder, “ _How is everyone?”_ _  
_ _“Oh this and that, all stitched together mostly. And you? How’s your chest?”_ Amaia’s dark brown eyes flittered lower down, hands gently reaching out to touch where shrapnel had once jutted out. Esti took her hand, and smiled up at her reassuringly, “ _My scars are simply the price for getting us one step closer to freedom, sister.”_ _  
_ _“Who are your guests?”_ Amaia glanced over her shoulder, Esti swallowed, looking back with her, “ _Republic._ ”   
Her eyes settled on Wolffe, “ _They’re friends, I promise, sister.”_ _  
_ _“The cooperative will have to judge that, Estene.”_

  
The air in the cave network was tense as they were led down through the tunnels, carrying torches of light.   
The silt from the floor as red as blood under the flames.   
Wolffe stared at his boots, splattered in dark red in an all too familiar sight. He suppressed the urge to shudder.   
Esti was speaking to one of the guerrillas, a woman who stood a head taller than her with black hair secured in a series of braids. She had kind eyes when she looked at Esti, but they were cautioned when she made eye contact with him earlier. The other guy Esti had talked to, who's left eye constantly twitched and who walked with a slight limp, seemingly bit back a snarl every time he looked back at them.   
He picked up the pace to walk shoulder to shoulder with General Plo, and leaned in to whisper, “What are they talking about?”   
“Mostly the health of each other, they all sustained injuries during the factory riots.”   
“Forgive me, General, but what exactly are these factory riots everyone keeps mentioning?”   
“The textile factory that was here was a great source of income for this planet for many decades. It produced boundless outputs, supplying some of the core rims' biggest factories. However, a Republic watchdog investigation 50 years ago handed in a report that exposed the factory’s violent abuse of living rights.”   
Esti turned back to look at them, frowning, before giving Wolffe a soft smile. The woman, Amaia frowned at her, tugging at her arm. General Plo continued,   
“It revealed that the entire workforce of the factory was sourced from paid out orphanages. The children there received minimal education there, and were lured into work with the promise of housing, and food. The housing facilities were lacking, many humanoids developed lung diseases, or infections. Running water and electricity was rare. And their contracts dictated that they’re pay went towards their housing, and meals, and the orphanage fees. On top of this, conditions at the factory were a danger, injuries were many, as were deaths. Leaving them with a new generation of orphans to pick for their workforce.”   
“Why didn’t the Jedi council intervene?”   
“It’s complicated, the factory owner and several bureaucrats had vested interests in the factory’s continued supply chain… Our files went missing, as did the spy who supplied the report. When Senate investigators finally managed to visit, these violations could not be seen and therefore the missing report was accused of defamation. Obviously, most people saw through that, and to compromise, education of the next wave orphans was improved. These guerrillas are the remains of the last workforce, educated, they started protesting for more rights. The protests were subdued violently and well… it appears they blew up the factory.”   
“That’s one way of dealing with it, I guess.”   
“Many died, many more were injured, and none left unscathed. They may be extremists, and new to warfare but..it doesn’t quite seem right.”

Before Wolffe could question General Plo further, the cave tunnel emerged into a cavern.   
Several huts lined the wooden plank paths laid out for them over the silt and mud, a small fire in the centre allowing the smoke to trail up and up towards the hole above them. It was freezing, the morning chill was worse in there than outside. Wolffe looked around as they walked through the makeshift hideout. Several people looked on from the hut windows, faces pale and drawn. Scrutinising them as they walked past. It dawned on Wolffe that most of them were young women and children. 

They were led into a small hut, containing only a round table, chipped and burnt, pulled back together in a hodgepodge manner. 

Esti stood beside General Plo at the one side table, Wolffe stood behind them, arms crossed as he stared straight at Amaia, and the man from earlier, who was apparently Eguzki, who stood at the other side of the table. 

_  
_ Amaia cleared her throat, _“Meeting opened. Estene, please explain why you’ve led Republic troops to our hideout.”_ _  
_ _“They wish to negotiate with us.”_ _  
_ _“Negotiate, why?”_ _  
_ _“They wish to help us be free of the oppressors.”_ _  
_ Eguzki hit his fist against the table, _“The Republic is equally as responsible for our pain as the Separatists. It was under Republic rule that we all nearly starved, were enslaved. Under them, you, Estene, nearly died.”_ _  
_ _“It was under factory negligence that I nearly died, brother.”_ she snapped at him, “ _I have no quarrel with the Republic. And we, if we wish to establish a new government, shouldn’t either.”_ _  
_ _“You propose aligning with a dying fire?”_ Amaia frowned, leaning on her elbows against the table. Estene cleared her throat, _“You think if the Separatists win our autonomy as a people will be respected? Don’t forget, our factory-slave manager was paid from Count Dooku’s pockets.”_ _  
_ Amaia shook her head, pursing her lips, _“We need complete independence, Estene.”_ _  
_ _“And how would we do that?! We have no support locally, no money, no power, no numbers.”_ she waved to gesture outside, before leaning onto the table like Amaia, letting her voice stay firm and steady as she continued, “ _At least with the Republic we will receive backing while we set up, we can represent ourselves in the Senate and raise awareness to how we suffered. How other planets are probably suffering too!”_ _  
_ _“Always an idealist, Esti.”_ Eguzki scoffed, “ _The Republic will grant us no independence, we’ll be used as a military base.”_ _  
_ _“For the war, yes, but that also protects us from the Separatists.”_ _  
_ _“Or paints us as targets!”_ _  
_ _“If I may-”_ General Plo cleared his throat, “ _The Republic respects the autonomy of each system, and tries to keep fighting to a minimum. If your system wishes to remain neutral, I can arrange for you to discuss with Senator of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, who is campaigning for a pacifist and democratic resolution to this war.”_ _  
_ _“Even more of an idealist than Esti.”_ Eguzki spat, Amaia shot him a glare before sighing, _“General, if we may, you and your Jedi council ignored our plight for decades. We were not the first generation of factory workers to be subjected to slavery, to abuse and degradation and exploitation under the rich man’s pocket.”_ _  
_ _“We were aware of your people’s fight, and fully supported your cause. But I’m afraid the Jedi Council was ordered not to interfere as it would have caused a diplomatic incident. I’m ashamed to say, our hands were tied.”_ _  
_ _“But they aren’t tied to stage a full military takeover of our planet?”_ Amaia huffed out a humourless laugh. _  
_ _“We were ordered to destroy the Separatist base, and help establish a pro-Republic government-”_ _  
_ _“So we pass from one dictator to the next. Wonderful. All our problems are solved.”_ Eguzki threw his hands up in the air. _  
_ _“You’re being unfair-”_ Esti tried, but he cut across her, _“Estene, we’d just be switching to a lesser evil. And power and wealth is a stem for greater evil to grow on.”_ _  
_ General Plo sighed, arms crossing over his chest, _“I agree with you. However when the Republic wins-”_ _  
_ _“If, the Republic wins.”_ Amaia interrupted. General Plo nodded to her, continuing, _“Chancellor Palpatine will lose all emergency voting powers. The Republic is a democracy, where your voices can, and will be heard. I swear it.”_ _  
_   
A silence descended the table. Amaia cleared her throat, _“We have much to think about, as a collective. Estene, see that our...guests are comfortable.”_   
_“I am being banned from the discussion? What of the cooperative?”_ _  
_ _“It seems you may have some…”_ Amaia glanced over Esti’s shoulder, “vested interests in this alliance. You may re-join after we have finished preliminary discussions.” 

Esti stared in disbelief at her sister, cheeks burning red before she stormed out.

**Author's Note:**

> The dialogue is awful cause I'm trying to get that language barrier through, so I'm so so sorry for this mess.   
> Uhhhhh, yeah?  
> I'm just trying to write stuff I want to write and post it to train myself not to be so judgmental and self-critical with my work, there's nothing wrong with a harmless escapist work. So I will hopefully continue this soon.   
> Thanks for reading.   
> xxxx 
> 
> Translations;   
> Exte- house  
> Nork- Who  
> Wolffe bizirik. Esti bizirik. Gu bizirik.- Wolffe survivor. Esti survivor. Us/We survivor.   
> Gabon- Goodnight


End file.
